[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 80 (Monday, April 28, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 17537-17539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07378]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 80 / Monday, April 28, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 17537]]
Executive Order 14281 of April 23, 2025
Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. A bedrock principle of the United
States is that all citizens are treated equally under
the law. This principle guarantees equality of
opportunity, not equal outcomes. It promises that
people are treated as individuals, not components of a
particular race or group. It encourages meritocracy and
a colorblind society, not race- or sex-based
favoritism. Adherence to this principle is essential to
creating opportunity, encouraging achievement, and
sustaining the American Dream.
But a pernicious movement endangers this foundational
principle, seeking to transform America's promise of
equal opportunity into a divisive pursuit of results
preordained by irrelevant immutable characteristics,
regardless of individual strengths, effort, or
achievement. A key tool of this movement is disparate-
impact liability, which holds that a near
insurmountable presumption of unlawful discrimination
exists where there are any differences in outcomes in
certain circumstances among different races, sexes, or
similar groups, even if there is no facially
discriminatory policy or practice or discriminatory
intent involved, and even if everyone has an equal
opportunity to succeed. Disparate-impact liability all
but requires individuals and businesses to consider
race and engage in racial balancing to avoid
potentially crippling legal liability. It not only
undermines our national values, but also runs contrary
to equal protection under the law and, therefore,
violates our Constitution.
On a practical level, disparate-impact liability has
hindered businesses from making hiring and other
employment decisions based on merit and skill, their
needs, or the needs of their customers because of the
specter that such a process might lead to disparate
outcomes, and thus disparate-impact lawsuits. This has
made it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for
employers to use bona fide job-oriented evaluations
when recruiting, which prevents job seekers from being
paired with jobs to which their skills are most
suited--in other words, it deprives them of
opportunities for success. Because of disparate-impact
liability, employers cannot act in the best interests
of the job applicant, the employer, and the American
public.
Disparate-impact liability imperils the effectiveness
of civil rights laws by mandating, rather than
proscribing, discrimination. As the Supreme Court put
it, ``[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of
race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.''
Disparate-impact liability is wholly inconsistent with
the Constitution and threatens the commitment to merit
and equality of opportunity that forms the foundation
of the American Dream. Under my Administration,
citizens will be treated equally before the law and as
individuals, not consigned to a certain fate based on
their immutable characteristics.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in
all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid
violating the Constitution, Federal civil rights laws,
and basic American ideals.
[[Page 17538]]
Sec. 3. Revoking Certain Presidential Actions. The
following Presidential approvals of the regulations
promulgated under 42 U.S.C. 2000d-1 are hereby revoked:
(a) the Presidential approval of July 25, 1966, of
the Department of Justice Title VI regulations (31 Fed.
Reg. 10269), as applied to 28 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(2) in
full; and
(b) the Presidential approval of July 5, 1973, of
the Department of Justice Title VI regulations (38 Fed.
Reg. 17955, FR Doc. 73-13407), as applied to the words
``or effect'' in both places they appear in 28 C.F.R.
42.104(b)(3), and as applied to 28 C.F.R.
42.104(b)(6)(ii) and 28 C.F.R. 42.104(c)(2) in full.
Sec. 4. Enforcement Discretion to Ensure Lawful
Governance. Given the limited enforcement resources of
executive departments and agencies (agencies), the
unlawfulness of disparate-impact liability, and the
policy of this order, all agencies shall deprioritize
enforcement of all statutes and regulations to the
extent they include disparate-impact liability,
including but not limited to 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2, 28
C.F.R. 42.104(b)(2)-(3), 28 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(6)(ii),
and 28 C.F.R. 42.104(c)(2).
Sec. 5. Existing Regulations. (a) As delegated by
Executive Order 12250 of November 2, 1980 (Leadership
and Coordination of Nondiscrimination Laws), the
Attorney General shall initiate appropriate action to
repeal or amend the implementing regulations for Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for all agencies to
the extent they contemplate disparate-impact liability.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Attorney General, in coordination with the heads of all
other agencies, shall report to the President, through
the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy:
(i) all existing regulations, guidance, rules, or orders that impose
disparate-impact liability or similar requirements, and detail agency steps
for their amendment or repeal, as appropriate under applicable law; and
(ii) other laws or decisions, including at the State level, that impose
disparate-impact liability and any appropriate measures to address any
constitutional or other legal infirmities.
Sec. 6. Review of Current Matters. (a) Within 45 days
of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the
Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
shall assess all pending investigations, civil suits,
or positions taken in ongoing matters under every
Federal civil rights law within their respective
jurisdictions, including Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, that rely on a theory of disparate-impact
liability, and shall take appropriate action with
respect to such matters consistent with the policy of
this order.
(b) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, the Director of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, the Chair of the Federal Trade
Commission, and the heads of other agencies responsible
for enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
(Public Law 93-495), Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (the Fair Housing Act (Public Law 90-284, as
amended)), or laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, or
abusive acts or practices shall evaluate all pending
proceedings that rely on theories of disparate-impact
liability and take appropriate action with respect to
such matters consistent with the policy of this order.
(c) Within 90 days of the date of this order, all
agencies shall evaluate existing consent judgments and
permanent injunctions that rely on theories of
disparate-impact liability and take appropriate action
with respect to such matters consistent with the policy
of this order.
Sec. 7. Future Agency Action. (a) In coordination with
other agencies, the Attorney General shall determine
whether any Federal authorities preempt State laws,
regulations, policies, or practices that impose
disparate-impact liability based on a federally
protected characteristic such as race, sex,
[[Page 17539]]
or age, or whether such laws, regulations, policies, or
practices have constitutional infirmities that warrant
Federal action, and shall take appropriate measures
consistent with the policy of this order.
(b) The Attorney General and the Chair of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission shall jointly
formulate and issue guidance or technical assistance to
employers regarding appropriate methods to promote
equal access to employment regardless of whether an
applicant has a college education, where appropriate.
Sec. 8. Severability. If any provision of this order,
or the application of any provision to any individual
or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder
of this order and the application of its other
provisions to any other individuals or circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 23, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-07378
Filed 4-25-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P